Boat owners in the Ottawa Valley say low water levels have made for treacherous navigating this summer.

While the main channel of the Ottawa River is fine for boating, getting into the channel can be a problem as water levels drop.

René Côté sails out of the Aylmer Marina a little more cautiously than normally this summer.

"My depth sounder says four feet deep, and I got a four-foot keel," said Côté . "So I'm essentially just skimming the surface just trying to get out."

"I mean I hit a rock, I was only going two knots and I had people on board just essentially flew forward," said Côté . "You can bang your head, you can get badly hurt, especially if you're not expecting it."

A lack of rain this summer, particularly during a dry July, has posed challenges for boaters across the region.

Paul Richer, the commodore of the Grand Rivière Sailing Club in Aylmer, Que., said many members — particularly those with bigger boats — are keeping their vessels docked for fear of damaging them.

"We hear almost every day from our members, I hit a rock there, I hit a rock there, so we're trying to locate as many rocks as we have and we have a boat to try to remove the rocks but some are so big that there's no way to move them," said Richer.

Another problem looms later this season.

If water levels drop any more, some boats will have to get pulled out or risk getting stuck in the dock for the season.